Problem & Solution

Hundreds of thousands of Americans desperately need power wheelchairs and could dramatically improve their lives with the use of one. Unfortunately, the price of a new power wheelchair runs from $5,000 – $25,000, and even more depending on the user’s needs. This presents an impossible financial hurdle for the for many potential users because so many lack insurance or they have inadequate insurance coverage.

Surprisingly, those who are insured often cannot get power chairs. Medicare qualifiers find this source of coverage to be quite restrictive. Claims are often rejected because of rigid criteria, for example, people who can stand or walk a few steps are denied. People in nursing homes and long-term care facilities will generally not be approved for a power wheelchair.

Many cases must wait from 6 months to as long as a year and more for an approved power chair, leaving them without mobility while they wait. In most cases people are unable to receive a power chair while in a long term facility.

The same thing happens when power wheelchair repairs are needed. Insurance approval for high-end parts and repairs can be delayed for months at a time, depriving the wheelchair user in the meantime.

While the desire for mobility is common to all those who are mobility-impaired, it is especially difficult for people who want to work and cannot negotiate the passage between home and employment without a power wheelchair.

Solution

An impressive stockpile of once-useful power wheelchairs exists. But today, these wheelchairs often end up discarded in landfills or junkyards, rusting in garages, basements or other storage areas because insurance companies and wheelchair distributors have never developed trade-in or recycling arrangements.

Our solution – and the mission of The Wheelchair Recycler – is to collect; refurbish and re-issue used power wheelchairs at little or no expense to the new user. Most equipment is 90% below market value.